Charles Édouard Armand-Dumaresq (1 January 1826 – 6 March 1895 was a French painter and illustrator who specialized in military subjects.

Early life and education

Armand-Dumaresq was born on 1 January 1826, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, France. His father, Gabriel Armand, was also a painter."Dictionnaire des pseudonyms"
p. 22, by Georges d'Heylli, 1977.

Career

He began his art studies with Thomas Couture''Dictionnaire Bénézit'' and was originally a watercolorist and painter. He concentrated on religious themes before becoming interested in military art. In 1858, he was legally authorized to add his mother's maiden name to his, becoming Armand-Dumaresq. He was a member of the jury at the painting exhibition of the

Exposition Universelle (1867) The of 1867 (), better known in English as the 1867 Paris Exposition, was a world's fair held in Paris, Second French Empire, France, from 1 April to 3 November 1867. It was the List of world expositions, second of ten major expositions held i ...

. Shortly after, he exhibited his monumental tableau '' Cambronne at Waterloo'', for which

Napoléon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

awarded him the Cross of the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. Later, the painting was purchased by

Isma'il Pasha Isma'il Pasha ( ; 25 November 1830 or 31 December 1830 – 2 March 1895), also known as Ismail the Magnificent, was the Khedive of Egypt and ruler of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain and France. Shari ...

, the

Khedive of Egypt The Khedivate of Egypt ( or , ; ') was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire, established and ruled by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon Bonaparte's forces which brought an end to the short-li ...

. In 1870, the Ministry of National Education dispatched him on a mission to the United States to study various methods of teaching drawing for industrial applications. He had recently completed a similar study in the Netherlands. During his investigations, he interacted with the art community in the eastern part of the country, and making contacts at the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

. He concluded that the superiority of French methods was recognized there, citing the employment of several French citizens in the engraving and printing department of the u.S. Treasury Department. He painted and sketched very little during his trip, but created numerous American-themed works upon his return. Towards the end of his career, he worked with the Belgian painter, Louis Van Engelen (1856-1940), to create a panorama of the Battle of Bapaume from the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

; now preserved in the Town hall of

Bapaume Bapaume (original Dutch name Batpalmen) is a Communes of France, commune in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region of northern France. Geography Bapaume is a farming and light indus ...

. His works may be seen at the Château de Versailles, the print collection of the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

and in the "Musée national de la coopération franco-américaine" at the Château de Blérancourt. One of his works, ''The Signing of the Declaration of Independence'', is on display in the Cabinet Room at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

. It was donated by Sam Salz during the

Kennedy Administration John F. Kennedy's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 35th president of the United States began with Inauguration of John F. Kennedy, his inauguration on January 20, 1961, and ended with Assassination of John F. Kennedy, his ...

. A copy is kept at the

Clinton Presidential Center The William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library of Bill Clinton, who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. It is located in Little Rock, Arkansas and includes the Clinton Preside ...

Death

He died on 6 March 1985, in Paris.

Selected paintings

File:"Cambronne à Waterloo" d'Armand Dumaresq (Exposition Universelle de Paris 1867).JPG, ''Cambronne at Waterloo'' File:Battle of Bender 1713.png, ''The Skirmish at Bender'' File:Signing of Declaration of Independence by Armand-Dumaresq, c1873.png, ''The Signing of the Declaration of Independence'' File:Dumaresq-Ney.jpg, ''The Execution of Marshal Ney''

References

External links